Traffic and industrial marker



May 31, 1932. R. FOSTER 1,861,425

TRAFFIC AND INDUSTRIAL MARKER Filed Aug. 10, 1927 Patented May 31, 1932 ROBERT ros'rnn, or cnrcaeo, rnninors assrsnon moianranrnarric icon :1:

.ron 'rIo or NEW-YOB NLY, conronarion or 1vnw Yonn TRAFFIC ann innus rnran MARKER Application filed August 10, 1927; serial N6. 211,903.

The object of the invention is to provide improvements in surface markers, and particularly in those which are especially adapted for use on highways and in industrial plants, to designate locations, boundaries, areas, etc.

Another object is to provide a marker which can be secured to substantially any surface, including asphalt, concrete, wood,

,1ng from within said recess, and which are adapted when driven into a surface to spread in opposite directions, so that thereafter they co-operate to prevent the accidental loosening or dislodgment of the marker from the particular surface.

And a still further object is to provide the marker with a groove, positioned between said prongs and connecting the diametrically opposite marginal portions of the said annular recess, whereby the actual connection of each prong with the disc-like head is spaced inwardly from the plane of the lower or supporting face of said head, with the re sult that the flexing of each prong when driven into a surface commences closer to the head than would otherwise be the case, and also with the result that no recess is created in the normally upper or exposed surface of the marker, due to shrinkage of the metal when cooling, as is likely to occur when forming the marker by casting.

The invention comprises further details of construction which are fully brought out in the following description, when read in con =.'unction with the accom an in drawin 's h] P y a a: 7

in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment; of the invention Fig. 2 is a bottom plan-view1of the same Fig. 3 is a section on the line:33 of-FigQpFigahisia section :on. the line l-t of Fig. 2, and showing the mark; er; operatively afiixedto a surface: ofas'phalt,

orl thelike; and Fig; 5- showsa marker pros VlClQdWlilll a non-corrosive sheathlng.

Referring to the drawingsytheimproved; marker adapted particularly. for industrial. and similaruses, comprises axdisc head: 1-, having a normally upwardly or outwardly directed convex surface 2, which is buffed or.

otherwisepolished,so as to provide an initial light-reflecting surface, and i which surface. when the marker is formed. of Monel'metal', ascoloy, stainless steel, or similar; alloys, will permanently retain its-original refiectively without corrosion.

The underisurface 3, adjacent to the mare gin-of the. said head lies in a plane and is designed to support the marker upon the sur-v face towhich'the latter is attachedyandto likewise support the weight of. any article which may rest upon, or passover, the marker-wh'en imposition. Coaxiallywith the periphery of said headythe marker is provided upon i tssunder side; with an. annular groove 4, which surrounds-a plurality of tongueshaped spurs=5,theradially outer surfaces 6,

ofwhich form segments of acylinder, while their adj acen'tzsurfaces 7', eitherdiverge out-1 wardlyf along curved paths, along: straight.

paths, or are'substantially parallel for a distance and thence divergetowards the respectivepointed extremities 8. :With any such shape, how ever,tl1e act of driving .the spurs into a given surface causessaid prongs to flex or curve radially-outwardly, substantial- 1y as-shown in Fig. a, thonotnecessarily in all cases tosuch' a wide angular relation. v i I While the spurs 5 may extend from the plane of the under surface of the markers head, and close'together at their bases, for

several reasons it has been found advantage one to separate the spurs by a transversely extending groove 9, whichconnectsthe diametrically "opposite portions of the annular groove-4;, }Thus,when drlving the marker into relatively yieldingm'aterial, such as asphalt'and the like, that portion of said ma terial, which is displaced laterally by the upwardly increasing width of the spurs, flows into the grooves 4 and 9 and eliminates the tendency otherwise to prevent the under surface from reaching and resting uniformly upon the surface to which the marker is secured. Also, while only a pair of oppositely positioned prongs is illustrated, the invention provides for the use of any desired number, but preferably comprising oppositely positioned pairs, whether two, four,or=n1ore, in the aggregate. 7

As hereinbefore referred to, the present marker, instead of being made of a single part, such as a metal casting with its normally exposed surface polished, may be provided with a separate sheathing of Monel-metal, ascoloy, or similar non-corrosive metal, unita'rily secured to such exposed surface in any desired manner, as in the case of a co-pending application, of which as regards this detail this application is a continuation. Such a sheathing 2 is shown in Fig. '5, and is secured 'unitarily to the head of the markor as by crimping or otherwise bending the marginal portion 2 about the periphery of the head 1.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A surface marker, comprising a head, having a pair of spaced integral prongs ex tending from the normal underside and spaced from the edges of said head,-and separated by a groove adapted to receive material displaced by said prongs when driven into a surface, the transverse extent of said prongs at their union with said head being less than the width of said head.

2. A surface marker, comprising a head, having a pair of spaced integral prongs eX- tending from one side, a groove in said head surrounding said prongs and closely adjacent thereto, and a second groove extending between said prongs and above the plane-of the normal under side of said head, said grooves being adapted to receive material'dis placed by said prongs when driven into a surface.

3. A surface marker, comprising a head, having a pair of spaced integral prongs extending from one side and spaced from the edge of said head, and separated by a groove which extends into the adjacent surface of said head, and is adapted to receive material displaced by said prongs when driven into a surface.

4. A surface marker adapted to be driven into the material of a paved surface'and comprising a convex head of greater height at its center than at its periphery above the plane of its-under surface, and a downwardly depending means formed integral with and spaced from the periphery of said head for fastening said head in a predetermined p0- signature.

ROBERT FOSTER. 

